3 English teams face German opposition in Champions League

National Sports

Dec 17, 2018

Liverpool's Xherdan Shaqiri celebrates after scoring his side's second goal during the English Premier League soccer match between Liverpool and Manchester United at Anfield in Liverpool, England, Sunday, Dec. 16, 2018. (AP Photo/Rui Vieira)

By GRAHAM DUNBAR, AP Sports Writer
NYON, Switzerland (AP) — One of the fiercest international rivalries in soccer will play out three times in the last 16 of the Champions League when a trio English teams take on German opposition.
Five-time European champions Liverpool and Bayern Munich were drawn Monday to face each other, Manchester City was paired with Schalke and Tottenham will play Bundesliga leader Borussia Dortmund.
Also, three-time defending champion Real Madrid will first play at Ajax, while Barcelona was drawn with Lyon.
In other matches, Manchester United will play French leader Paris Saint-Germain, Juventus will take on Atletico Madrid and Porto will play Roma.
The draw included nine former champions with a combined 40 of the 63 Champions League or European Cup titles since the competition began in 1955.
Real Madrid and Ajax have 17 of those titles, though those two storied clubs have never met in a final.
The potential first-time winners include Paris Saint-Germain, which topped the toughest group ahead of Liverpool and Napoli with a tournament-high 17 goals in this year’s group stage.
Manchester City, also seeking its first title, arguably got the weakest opponent on current form. Schalke is in 13th place in the Bundesliga.
Months after leaving Real Madrid, Cristiano Ronaldo will return to the city with Juventus for the first leg against Atletico. The final on June 1 will also be played at the Metropolitano Stadium in Madrid.
The first legs will be played from Feb. 12-20, with the second legs scheduled between March 5-13.
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